HAMPTON COURT, England — LOCOG has done a terrific job with its London Olympics. Most of the venues are within walking distance of each other, transportation is running smoothly and, as I said, they have terrific meat pies in most of the working press centres.

Where they really excelled was in the cycling time trial venue. They chose Hampton Court, a village in the southern England county of Surrey and home of the Hampton Court Palace. It’s without question the greatest backdrop of an Olympic event I’ve ever seen. It even tops the one in Beijing.

Think about it. How in the world do you top the Great Wall of China?

But the Hampton Court Palace is the former home of King Henry VIII and looks it. It’s your basic castle, complete with turrets and jagged upper walls as if the city was bracing for the Goths to invade.

Organizers also had three chairs sitting in front of the palace. As each cyclist took the lead, he sat in the middle chair, a real golden throne built for a king. As he moved down the standings, he’d move to a chair to the left, then the right, then the shower.

When local hero Bradley Wiggins won the time trial, he looked absolutely royal sitting on the throne. No, he didn’t look anything like King Henry VIII. I shudder to think what ol’ Hefty Hank looked like in Lycra.